Tenstrings Music Institute | |
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Location | |
Nigeria | |
Coordinates | 6°29′35″N3°21′25″E / 6.49302°N 3.35689°E Coordinates: 6°29′35″N3°21′25″E / 6.49302°N 3.35689°E |
Information | |
Founder | Akapo Emmanuel |
Communities served | Ikeja, Surulere, Festac Town, Lekki, Abuja, Port Harcourt |
Website | http://tenstrings.org/ |
Tenstrings Music Institute, incorporated in the United Kingdom and operating there as Africa Heritage Academy [1] is a contemporary music conservatory in Nigeria, and is the country's largest music school with study centers in Ikeja, Surulere, Festac Town, Lekki, Port Harcourt and affiliated schools in other parts of the country. Over the last nine years, Tenstrings has enrolled students from at least ten other African countries, including Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, etc. [2] [3] [4] [5]
Tenstrings was founded in 2007 by Akapo Emmanuel - a Nigerian music educator, after several years of teaching music in both public and private institutions. His aim was to create a vocational training center for young and talented people who dream of pursuing careers in popular music; such as Hip Hop, R & B, Gospel, Afro Music, e.t.c, whom the regular classically oriented music schools were not catering to. Some of the notable activities and events organized periodically by the institute include; The Starmingle, [6] HippyJams, Gospel Breakfast, Playing4Change and The Ones2Watch Concert. [7] [8] [9] [10]
The school offers professional training in music business, singing, playing musical instruments, dance, music performance, disc-jockeying, music production, gospel music program, and sound engineering. In September 2016, it was reported that the school has trained over 7000 students in about a decade of its establishment. In 2015, the school institutionalized career management and promotional services for its protégées. [11] [12] [13]
Aituaje Iruobe, known professionally as Waje, which is the first letter from each word from the phrase "Words Aren't Just enough" is a Nigerian singer. She first gained recognition after being featured on the remake of P-Square’s "Omoge Mi". Waje was also featured on the duo's 2008 hit track "Do Me". She contributed vocals to Banky W's "Thief My Kele" and M.I's "One Naira". In 2016, Waje was one of the four judges in the inaugural season of The Voice Nigeria. In 2018, on its final season of Africa Magic telenovela, Battleground, Waje recurred.
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Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu, known professionally as Sinach, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and senior worship leader, serving in this capacity for over 30 years. She is the first singer-songwriter to top the Billboard Christian Songwriter chart for 12 weeks in a row. Her song "Way Maker" received three nominations and won the Song of the Year at the 51st GMA Dove Awards, making her the first Nigerian to win the Award. She also won the BMI song of the year, and in 2021 was recognized by the US Congress while on tour in the United States of America.
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Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola, professionally known as DJ Cuppy, or simply Cuppy, is a Nigerian disc jockey and producer. She is the daughter of Nigerian businessman Femi Otedola. She grew up in Lagos and moved to London at the age of 13.
Oluseye Desmond Sodamola, professionally known as Spinall, is a Nigerian disc jockey, record producer, songwriter, label executive, and media personality. He first gained prominence in 2004, while working as a radio DJ at Raypower 100.5 FM, Spinall studied at Tenstrings Music Institute. He later joined Industry Nite where he promoted underground talents at the weekly platform. He was the official DJ to Wande Coal while he was affiliated with Mavin Records. He created a style edge to his outfit known as TheCAP, tracing his roots back to his culture. TheCAP, which fans tags as "TheCrazyAzzParty" has since then been his brand power and identity. Prior to April 2021, he went by the stage name DJ Spinall, and started an Afromix series on Apple Music, on 15 April 2021. and hosted a television show, known as Smirnoff Infamous Mix on MTV Base, Soundcity TV with a podcast series launched on Audiomack and various radio stations in Nigeria. On 6 April 2021, Smirnoff Infamous Mix first episode featured guest appearance from Wurld.
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Emmanuel Akapo is a Nigerian creative entrepreneur, record producer, writer and music educator. He is the founder of Tenstrings Music Institute, a music academy with multiple centers in Nigeria. He has worked with notable Nigerian musicians such as Sound Sultan, Eva Alordiah, Bez, and Brymo. He is also the founder of Black Fragrance School of Design, a Lagos-based design academy offering vocational training in design fields such as fashion design, interior decor, animation, photography, website and graphics design.
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